With Phillip Island’s reputation for rewarding bravery and momentum, the qualifying order promises an exciting final race of the year. Beard may start from pole, but with Mustangs and Camaros evenly matched and slip-streaming likely to play a role, the season finale is set up for a thrilling conclusion.

The 33 strong grid would endure constant rain of varying intensities all day on Saturday with West Australian Aldo De Paoli bagging pole for race one in front of fellow Camaro runners Trevor Talbot and Andrew Beard.

The Bend Classic once again lived up to its growing reputation as one of the nation’s great historic and sports car gatherings — and this year, the big talking point was the weather. Sunshine one moment, crosswinds the next, and heavy rain sweeping through late in the day meant drivers were constantly guessing where the grip had gone.

Meuleman looked immediately comfortable in the high-speed Phillip Island conditions, setting his benchmark on lap eight and leaving the rest of the GN runners chasing.

Mark Johnson (MJR Motorsport Mustang) secured second in class with a strong 1:52.006, just over a second adrift, while Geoff Munday placed his Chevrolet Camaro third on 1:52.164, less than two-tenths behind Johnson in a tight scrap for the front of the GN grid.

The fight for the next positions was equally close, with Glenn Miles (Valiant Charger) fourth on 1:52.240, narrowly ahead of Trevor Talbot in another Camaro on 1:52.385, making the top five in GN separated by just 1.45 seconds.

Qualifying didn’t get off the best of starts with an incident not long into the session, with a significant oil spill that caused the session to be red flagged without most of the files completing a lap.

The much-hyped all-Mini Challenge, ‘The Ted Brewster Trophy’ was always going to be a big deal, much as the all-Cortina race had done the previous year. Guns from SA, Tas and NSW plus a strong Vic base formed a 23-car grid facing the drop of the Australian flag for six torrid laps.

Only nine entrants braved the Phillip Island weather in mid May for Round 3 of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships. Michael Miceli’s Boss 302 Fastback Mustang was still on a high from Bathurst the month before and took pole, half a second ahead of the Camaros of Trever Talbot and Geoff Munday.